New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-12-25
NOTES FROM PARIS.
nm AND NEW-THE THEATRE FRANCAlo
AMI IA SOURIS.


,. ro,itics wholly aside, as do in this
,o..o, 7 am tempted to cry out, Oh for the Paris
~ other iays and to quote once more the ever
quoted:
Mais on sont les neiges d. antan1
The Paris of the Third Empire was despotism
And den of thieves, but at least il was amusing
And IL is permissible to detest the Bonapartes and
all their ways as ever did and do, yet sigh some
times for something Of the gayety, the irresistible
animation the movement the sparkle OF the days
when Louis Napoleon and the Empress and Mad
anne de Castiglione and the rest were at the Tuil-
cries, and life in Paris was all one brilliant holt
day The sparkle is gone out Of it, Paris is still
Paris and there is no other and still outshnes
every other city in the world spectacle but
II is very far indeed from outshining its other
self Of other days. The streets seem half vacant
tho shops less rich there fewer carriages, the
Partisan has lost some Of his alertness OF
manner, innumerable houses that used
20 be open shut for all, or nearly
ell, social purposes, amusement is no longer
the chief business Of life the very theatres are
sombre to what they were, Longchamps on
great race day is less like a garden Of flowers.
The Tuileries have been abolished off the face Of
the earth and with that beautiful fabric seems to
have vanished the very spirit Of gayety which
once enlvencd not the Tuieres alone, but
the whole city Of which it was the centre.
am not the first to make these depressing
hections nor do make them for the first time and
will not pursue them. All wish to point out
Is that matters are getting not better but worse.
] never saw Paris dull at this season as 1t Is
now-dull I mean. If you look wholly at the
ternal life Of it. The Presidential crisis which
I came to see had exciting moments, but they
were only moments. The streets about the Care
St. Lazare. filed with cavalry and police, looked
like old times. As a spectator hoped there
would be something for cavalry and police to do
yes, and otherwise than spectator, for the ques
ton whether the mob Of Paris is again to govern
France has unhappily Of late become open one
1t must or later be answered, and last
Saturday was good occasion for giving a
decisive answer as is likely to occur Both troops
and police were ready for their work, and General
Sausser, good Republican as he is, and because
he is good Republican, is the to render
good account Of rioters who pose as revolution
lists. Government by mob has never been any
thing but government by a minority. And
admit the appetite grows by what it feeds on. /
have seen so many mobs should have liked to
another and to see how the present Partisan way
of handling them compares with that OF London.
General Saussier and Sir Charles Warren are two
strong men bred in very different schools. Ira
ditions. however survive. From what | saw on
Saturday in the Place du IIavre Judge that the
French ideas about riots are. on both sides very
much what they twenty years ago and more.
But enough Of these solcmnities
1t was, / believe, the aspect Of the Theatre
Francois last night which gave rise to the gloomy
reflections I have impaired to you Last night
was subscription night: Tuesday: the classic
night at the most classic theatre in the world 1t
oi,,1,-
for the piece the new comedy, " La Souris,"
by NJ Edouard Pailleron: de l. Academic Fran
case, rs one is forever reminded. But the roper
tory of the Theatre Francais like everything else
In these days, is modernized. Moliere is slowly
giving way to Dumas fills. and the lofty accents
OF the great Corncille are heard less seldom than
M. PaillerOns rattling dialogue. Nor are the
Tuesday night houses whatthey once were. They
are less fashionable. 1t is no longer Indispensable
FOR the leaders Of society to be in the boxes
or stalls. Certainly, not many Of them were
there last night The house had a second-rate
look-you might almost say second-h hand. There
were persons of distinction but they were few
asked friend, who had been to the foyer during
the first entr'acte, whom he had seen. "Absolu-
ment personnel Yet the house was crowded
Few toilettes were brilliant, or even fresh Fewer
were in full dress. Even in two Of the
tune, they commonly or often are on ordinary
nights In the balcony bonnets were worn uni
versally. Frenchwoman has long since made
up her mind that she cannot uncover her head
inside theatre, except in a box. What seemed
odd was that some Of these bonneted ladies were
In low gowns; not ball gowns but cut square at
the neck; one or two of them sleeveless. As for
the men-the black mass Of male humanity which
is still allowed to monopolize the best part Of the
house. the orchestra-they were for the most part
IN what here passes for evening dress with black
neck ties. Perhaps it is because Frenchwomen
dress well that Frenchmen dress SO badly. What
has bcfallen the French tailor that he cannot, or
that most Of them cannot construct an evening
suit? Half the men looked as If they had hired
their dress coats for the evening; SO i'll fitting
were these difficult garments. Wastcoats were
80 cut as to show little as possible of shirts,
not always clean that you cared to see more OF
them. The neckties were mostly Of that order of
architecture known the grotcsque; sometimes
mere rag; sometimes haunting in elaborate
black bows and hiding half the narrow expanse
of shirt which the slit in the waistcoat permitted
10 be seen. minority, Of course were as well
apparelled as II an American or English tailor had
cut their clothes But the general effect Of the
house what have said.
1t is only when you turn to the stage that the
immense superiority Of the French theatre becomes
evident, and seldom has it been more evident than
last night. La Souris' is nothing but dialogue
in three acts. 1t is not dramatic, the idea on
which it is built is not novel, there is not stua-
ton in the piece from beginning to end The
most novel characteristic of it is the distribution
Of the characters, Of whom five women to only
one man. They are brought successfully on the
stage with that art Of which the French dramatist
land he only in recent days-has the secret
Everything is simple, easy, natural. The char
ecters meet, converse discuss each other, disap-
pear. reappear. The note is that Of society, but
In good part of that society which NJ. Pailleron
has satirHcd in one sentence Of this comedy: